Chronicles of Orion 25 This follows The Diego Diaries 4: Part 410. Out of order will not make sense. Thanks!
-0-At school
They sat at a table where they watched Mr. Terradive explain the routine. They noted aliens sitting nearby at a littler table, their bodies covered in some sort of suit. They had hung their garments up in lockers that Mr. Terradive marked as their own, a place for their book bags too. They had taken out their datapad, then sat as they were introduced.
"These are our new students, Reflector and Co-D. They're new in the last migration and are staying with Mr. Ironhide, Sunspot's genitor. They will be coming to school together. We have humans in our class as well, Reflector and Co-D. Are your proximity sensors on?" Terradive asked kindly.
They switched them on, then nodded as Terradive scanned them. "They are."
"Good. You have to keep them on forever now. We have a lot of smaller aliens around who are our great friends. We don't want accidents," he said with a grin. "Right now, we are going to start our orn with geography. Everyone, open the file to the Cybertron section."
Reflector looked at his, then Mr. Terradive. "I don't have that."
Terradive took their datapads, walked to his desk and slotted them one at a time into the information download interface all of them used. In seconds, Reflector and Co-D's datapads would have all they needed. He handed them back to the little mechs, then helped them find the file on the desktop of their big personal devices. When they were all simpatico they began. Given their rough start fully explained by message by Ratchet, they would wait until talk time in the reading pit before asking them anything about themselves.
-0-Across the hall
He sat at a desk with four other kids, his datapad downloaded and ready to go. Ms Lyrica was a small femme, all white with yellow accents. She was kind and smart, amazingly intuitive and extremely high caste. That she had been a life long advocate for universal education for all had not slowed her rise but her membership in the Primus Peace Mission had gotten her imprisoned during the Clampdown. Like most of the educated here, she had suffered from divergence to the party line.
"Welcome to our group, Bos. We are always up to new students. It is the group's responsibility to ensure that you are welcomed and know what to do at all times. We always start our first class by going to music. If you can stand and push in your chairs I will ask you to line up when your entire table is ready," she said explaining things for his benefit that were already old hat to everyone else.
When tables were ready, the students turned to walk to the line. When it was ready, they walked out the door quietly without being led or told to go, walking to the big music room where they would get their lessons in Cybertronian culture and musical expression. Bos would love it and find a talent for it as would Reflector in turn. Co-D would like it too but find out he was tone deaf.
-0-Sparkling Day School, Terra, Primal Colony of Mars
Orion stood in line with everyone and their group's new student, a human infant named Claude. He was French, the son of a N.E.S.T. soldier that had decided to follow the lead of the others who thought this was a good idea. He was finding it was given the amount of instruction the babies got including other things outside of straight up education that included swimming, massage therapy, language immersion and an intense well rounded arts program.
The baby loved his classmates who were not only supervised around him but incredibly gentle. Claude had a full time aide whose job it was to assist and protect him through his day. Orion who was a maximal sparkling decided that he loved Claude and would give the sturdy little mech pats and lovies all day long. Claude liked him and they were inseparable, playing and learning side-by-side in all things. In time he would learn 'Han is bad. Orion is good.' He would also defend his buddy and be the first human child to end up in the Chairs of Doom. He wouldn't mind. Orion would be with him at the time.
-0-Mid morning recess at the Youngling Day School
They stood together, the three of them watching the kids playing everywhere in the vast fenced in space filled with climbing structures, swinging toys and game areas for different sports. Right now, they stood together wearing their Seeker jackets watching everyone around them. Teachers stood here and there on duty as the kids had a burst of energy all around them. It wouldn't be long they were to go in but for now it would be necessary.
"What is it like where you are, Bos?" Co-D asked.
"Its okay. Everyone is nice. Miss Lyrica is a nice femme. I like it I think," Bos said. He glanced at the other two. "What about you?"
"I like Mr. Terradive. He's nice. He explains things and helps us. Everyone in the class is nice. Everyone likes us. Sunspot is in our class. I'm glad. We don't know anyone," Reflector said with relief.
As they said that Silverbow ran to them sliding to a halt. "Come on! We're playing football!" she said, then turned to run back to a group including Sunspot who were waiting for them to join.
They looked at each other, then as one ran forward joining the group. As they did, Terradive and Roto who had come to the school to do screenings of new students both smiled.
-0-Sparkling Day
Claude sat on the servo of his aide who sat in the pool holding him in the water. It came to his little belly button but no higher. Orion who was floating on his back smiled at the ceiling. He was singing to them both, a surprisingly pleasing sounding array of tuneful noise that echoed in the big room. They were going for massages next that would include a human femme who had knowledge of such things for her own species. She was being trained to be the therapist for humans in the schools.
She was also a nurse in her life back in Greece so she was networked with the doctor at Earth 1, getting a job in the schools to help and to see her daughter and son excel. Bases were being covered in all areas for everyone.
"DOG!"
Neo filling in for Roto while he did screenings laughed. "Claude."
Orion turned his helm toward her and capsized. He sank to the bottom, then pushed off slipping back into a floating position again. He glanced slightly to Neo. "Dog."
"Claude."
"Dog?"
"Claude."
He thought about it a moment, then grinned. "Quack," he said to general amusement. It would remain Dog for a while. Then it would morph to Cod.
Close enough.
-0-That afternoon
They worked on their spelling and grammar learning Neocybex in all its many forms together in pairs. Reflector was working with Sunspot and Co-D was in a duet with Silverbow. The afternoon would whiz past. They would have their martial arts lesson, learn about the color spectrum in art which for the Cybertronians included six colors that humans couldn't see, have a discussion of the Cybertronian 'flute' and demo by a former member of the Cybertronian State Orchestra based in Iacon as well as a dance lesson. They were studying folk dancing from Tarn.
By the time their last recess came around, they were feeling tired, a normal reaction for new students in the system. They had also had their lunch in the lunchroom, went to the library and had a chat during discussion time.
"Tell us something about you that you don't know, younglings," Mr. Terradive had asked.
Human kids sat on either side of them staring at them with kindly expressions. Reflector looked at them, then his new teacher. "I like to run. I'm a fast runner."
"You can race with my brother," Comet said. "I'm fast too."
Reflector nodded. "I love to race."
"We have races at the race track. You can race on my team," Comet said with a smile.
They chatted together, the children of two worlds and a lost colony somewhere. When that was finished, they walked to their seats and began to write. They were given a prompt, 'There are many things for younglings to do here. What would be another nice addition for youth to be able to do?' and began to write on their special writing tablets. They were steel pages or 'papers' and with an electronic 'pen', they wrote sheets and sheets of their own ideas.
They would spend the next two days organizing their thoughts better, correcting and editing, then reading to each other what they wanted to see. For most of them, it was the Autobot Scouts. For Co-D and Reflector, it was the return of their genitors and families.
-0-After school
They stood in their line by the door, their classroom immaculate from their efforts. Homework datapads were filled with work both new and ongoing, reports by teachers and specialists of their work and play during the day to celebrate their efforts and the note for the next decaorn. The weekend was in two orns. It was time to relax, then rev up for the next decaorn of school and all its fun and learning. That it was football weekend was another thing altogether. One more orn and it would be Kaon v Simfur among other teams. Hopefully, the trio would be able to meet their adult 'brothers' before the game.
As genitors or other designations came the children were excused. Those who were going to daycare were sent out first along with the humans and their mech taxi, Tell. Sunspot, Reflector and Co-D stood in their line staring across the way at Bos standing in his. He was talking to a kid that he had taken a liking to and who had returned the favor. They were discussing rockets that they both liked to build and shot off.
Docker, Chan, and Ravel walked from the elevator to the space where genitors waited. Mr. Terradive turned to the line and nodded with a smile. Sunspot turned to the two. "Come on. Appa and our Ammas are here." He turned, then marched out with his usual gusto followed by the dog and the two little mechs. Ms Lyrica let Bos go so they gathered around the ammas and appa. "Where do we go now, Amma?" Sunspot asked.
"We go to the house for a snack. Then I think we need to go swimming at the pool," Docker said. She had been exploring again and found The Sports Center. It had been an exciting discovery so she sat and watched as disabled mechs and femmes did water therapy with their leader.
"Swimming pool?" Bos asked.
"We have much to explore together, infants," Chan said with a grin. "We better hurry. The treat is getting lonely."
With that, the group headed for the elevator and home.
-0-On their way too
Orion sang as he walked along the street. He had been happy all day with 'Cod'. When he was happy he sang and hugged things. Praxus walked along behind him smiling at everyone and everything that moved along with Hero. Some of them were refugees who stopped to watch them. For some, sparklings were a new thing to see in a city/colony filled with wonders.
It would take a while but they would reach the tower, go up to their apartment and bid Ravel and Tie Down adieu. They were working around the infant schedule and their customers still came in numbers. To get a tool/weapon/item from RTR Tools was like getting a necklace handmade from Cartier via Faberge at Tiffany's. They left the infants and adults to eat donuts and sip juice.
"OTHER ADA! I NEW SHE! COD!" Orion smiled his pac man smile at Docker.
Corr snorted. "That infant is so funny."
"He is," Reflector said with a grin.
Orion looked at him, then smiled brilliantly. He nearly lost the food in his mouth. Fast servos from his Appa Ratchet stopped that disaster. He grinned at his Appa who grinned back.
"This is your house, Amma?" Co-D asked as he looked around.
"It is," Corr replied. "We get to live here because the Prime is kind and wants everyone to be happy."
"I never lived in places like this. No one ever did in my family. We were low caste and didn't get to," Co-D said.
"No one is low caste, youngling," Corr gently corrected. "No one. The One and Primus made us. How can anything they make about be low?"
They looked at him a moment. "We were taught that too," Bos said with a nod. "Some don't think so."
"You need to see the Temple. The AllSpark and the Well are there," Chan said pouring more juice. "Once you see them you will understand how wrong and sad mechs and femmes like that are."
"Is it here?" Reflector asked with surprise.
"It is," Docker said as she began to collect dishes for the sink. In the old orns she would have washed them, putting everything in its place immediately but that was then. In the here and now there were infants to raise, grandchildren most unexpected. The great world beyond was their future so they came first in all things. "I think we should go there and then swim. Who agrees?"
Everyone did so they put their things on the counter. Harnessing the infants, everyone gathered to follow the elders including the dog. Out they went into the bright sunlight of deep winterish-early springish with its -114 degrees. Bright coats were had before they did as grandadas and appas opened boxes filled with with new things collected by trips through children's departments of the stores out there. Exclaims were had about the better fit as they walked out of the elevators for the street beyond. It would be an amusing and amiable walk to the Temple. Bos would carry Prowler all the way. Prowler would like it a lot.
-0-TBC 4-18-15
Thank goodness for spell check. I almost wrote The Chronicles of Onion. :D:D:D